Royal engagement coin, part two

Remember when we said we thought one had to be the monarch to be on British currency? We think we know where we got confused. We still suspect one has to be the sovereign to be on paper currency. (And, yes, we are having fun invoking the royal we.) But coins apparently are another matter.

The Royal Mint has quite a history of commemorating famous Britons, such as Winston Churchill and Horatio Nelson, and milestones of the royal family. An official coin was issued for the marriage of Prince William's parents, Prince Charles and then-Lady Diana Spencer. Coins were also issued to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II; the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the queen's coronation; the silver and gold wedding anniversaries of the queen and the duke of Edinburgh; the queen's 70th birthday; the queen mother's 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays; the queen mother's death; Princess Diana's death; Prince Charles's 50th and 60th birthdays; the 100th anniversary of the death of Queen Victoria; and more. A coin has been minted to commemorate Prince Philip's 90th birthday next year; it's available for order here. (We noted that unlike most of the Prince William-Kate Middleton coins, this one is in stock.)